- Over 200,000 graduates targeted for the Scheme
In a concerted effort to empower youth and equip them to become employers rather than job seekers, the NNPC Foundation has collaborated with Kudimata Nigeria Limited, a financial education entity, to provide basic financial literacy training to Batch C members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). The initiative, in alignment with the NYSC’s Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) scheme, has successfully trained over 118,000 youth corps members in financial literacy, with an ongoing training of approximately 70,000 members across the 37 NYSC orientation camps nationwide.
Femi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Ltd Abuja, highlighted that the maiden edition of the training for Batch B stream took place in the preceding months. Emphasizing the significance of financial literacy, Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, Emmanuella Arukwe, asserted that it is not only foundational for success in the competitive job market but also a journey towards achieving self-actualization, thereby contributing to the sustainable prosperity of the nation.
Arukwe encouraged corps members to leverage the knowledge gained from the training to break free from the “white collar job syndrome,” emphasizing the NNPC Foundation’s commitment to transforming youth corps members into employers of labor. She stated, “We are partnering with both NYSC and Kudimata to bring financial literacy to the corps members, as this will help them make better-informed decisions. We are very passionate about young people, and NYSC is a veritable ground as it cuts across 20 to 30 years old youth, making it the right demographic.”
Highlighting the program’s scope, Arukwe mentioned its coverage across the 36 states of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). She outlined the multi-stage approach, explaining that successful completion of the initial training, with a passing grade of 70 percent, would lead to subsequent stages focusing on advanced business management knowledge. The final stage involves a pitching session where well-trained individuals will be selected to receive start-up kits, facilitating their journey towards entrepreneurship.
Addressing the prevalent issue of youth unemployment, Arukwe acknowledged the challenge and underscored the foundation’s commitment to mitigating it through impactful capacity-building programs. She expressed optimism that the initiative would contribute significantly to reducing unemployment and underemployment in Nigeria.
Shokpeka Winifred, the FCT Coordinator of NYSC, expressed gratitude to NNPC Foundation and Kudimata Nigeria Ltd. for their unwavering support in empowering corps members to become self-reliant individuals and wealth creators. Winifred commended the training as a valuable platform for young people to learn effective financial management and resource utilization, fostering their development into responsible business owners.
In response, a corps member, Prudence Enema, conveyed enthusiasm for the financial literacy training, acknowledging its importance in preparing them for a secure financial future. Another corps member, Okeke Ugochukwu, affirmed the worthiness of the training, particularly praising the effective instruction on savings and financial categorization.
